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"OS storage management has improved with a user-visible "filesystem" and storage providers allowing edit-in-place, but there's still virtually no support for ba

by rsync 6y ago

"OS storage management has improved with a user-visible "filesystem" and storage providers allowing edit-in-place, but there's still virtually no support for backup or rsync. The native iOS Files app is not a robust client for NAS storage. So far, the best option has been GoodReader (Russian devs) which implements robust sync (SMB, SFTP & more) within the app, along with optional in-app strong encryption that goes beyond iOS data protection." Thank you - this is very interesting. Although I am a (casual) iphone user (my iphone has never seen my real name or my real phone number and has never touched rsync.net) I was not aware of the user-visible filesystem nor was I aware of "Goodreader". Does this user-visible filesystem allow me to just copy over my entire music library (which is files and directories, and no knowledge of apple/itunes/ios) and then let itunes browse it, locally on the phone ? Or do I still need to do complicated import tasks ?

walterbell 6y ago
> Does this user-visible filesystem allow me to just copy over my entire music library (which is files and directories, and no knowledge of apple/itunes/ios) Sort of. Each app has the equivalent of a folder. You could use the Files app to copy a directory tree of music files from a remote server, into the folder of a music-playing app (e.g. Flacbox, Nplayer). Then all the files are "local" to the app. This assumes the copy doesn't fail, e.g. several GB over a flaky network, as the Apple-native Files app can't resume a copy, and will abort on every duplicate. > and then let itunes browse it, locally on the phone ? The on-device music app from Apple conflates downloadable iTunes-purchased files with streaming Apple Music. It does not play local files AFAIK. But you can use several third-party apps to play music & video. The challenge is keeping the device and remote server in sync :) Hence GoodReader, which does a decent job of file synchronization within the constraints of a non-Apple app. It can also play music and videos, but doesn't have all the bells & whistles of a dedicated media app like nPlayer. But then those apps don't have file sync. While apps (e.g. media players or editors) can edit-in-place or view-in-place files within other apps (e.g. storage providers like GoodReader), this doesn't seem to support the ability to maintain a continuous mirror view / symbolic link on a directory tree from GoodReader into nPlayer. Other apps for an iCloud-free iPhone: 2Do (CalDav sync), local scraper/search DevonThink 2 Go (Webdav sync), Secure Shellfish (local access to remote files via SSH), HereWeGo (formerly Nokia offline maps), iCatcher (podcasts), Codebook (password manager with native sync to Mac), Kiwix (offline wikipedia/stackoverflow).
sexpositivepriv 6y ago
What I found is that many old apps have "password protected folders". Some video apps, some photos apps, some comic readers. This was to keep certain photos/videos/comic private. Many of those app expose all those "private" files via the Files app entirely defeating the purpose of having a password on them.
- srtjstjsj 6y ago
  Those files should be marked read-only for the owner and the pubic files world readable.
- walterbell 6y ago
  In-app encryption can keep files opaque to Siri/Spotlight/Files. By default, Spotlight/Siri will index in-app content, which may (?) also be sent to iCloud.

by rsync 6y ago

walterbell 6y ago

> Does this user-visible filesystem allow me to just copy over my entire music library (which is files and directories, and no knowledge of apple/itunes/ios) Sort of. Each app has the equivalent of a folder. You could use the Files app to copy a directory tree of music files from a remote server, into the folder of a music-playing app (e.g. Flacbox, Nplayer). Then all the files are "local" to the app. This assumes the copy doesn't fail, e.g. several GB over a flaky network, as the Apple-native Files app can't resume a copy, and will abort on every duplicate. > and then let itunes browse it, locally on the phone ? The on-device music app from Apple conflates downloadable iTunes-purchased files with streaming Apple Music. It does not play local files AFAIK. But you can use several third-party apps to play music & video. The challenge is keeping the device and remote server in sync :) Hence GoodReader, which does a decent job of file synchronization within the constraints of a non-Apple app. It can also play music and videos, but doesn't have all the bells & whistles of a dedicated media app like nPlayer. But then those apps don't have file sync. While apps (e.g. media players or editors) can edit-in-place or view-in-place files within other apps (e.g. storage providers like GoodReader), this doesn't seem to support the ability to maintain a continuous mirror view / symbolic link on a directory tree from GoodReader into nPlayer. Other apps for an iCloud-free iPhone: 2Do (CalDav sync), local scraper/search DevonThink 2 Go (Webdav sync), Secure Shellfish (local access to remote files via SSH), HereWeGo (formerly Nokia offline maps), iCatcher (podcasts), Codebook (password manager with native sync to Mac), Kiwix (offline wikipedia/stackoverflow).

sexpositivepriv 6y ago

What I found is that many old apps have "password protected folders". Some video apps, some photos apps, some comic readers. This was to keep certain photos/videos/comic private. Many of those app expose all those "private" files via the Files app entirely defeating the purpose of having a password on them.

srtjstjsj 6y ago
Those files should be marked read-only for the owner and the pubic files world readable.
walterbell 6y ago
In-app encryption can keep files opaque to Siri/Spotlight/Files. By default, Spotlight/Siri will index in-app content, which may (?) also be sent to iCloud.